Upload
melissa-chambers
View
217
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Cornell Urban Sustainability Initiative:Developing a MillionTreesNYC Research Agenda
Situation
Theory
Paradox
Action
To create a coupled-systems research program that leads to better understanding and practice related to urban tree planting
and related sustainability efforts in cities.
Coupled Human-Natural Systems
A coupled systems approach to urban sustainability implies integrating:
human outcomes… people’s attachment to the city (sense of place), stewardship behaviors, social connectedness, and physical and mental health;
and
ecological outcomes… ecosystem services, biodiversity.
Outcomes and Next Steps
Image Credits: Alex Kudryavtsev, Daylife.com, International Monetary Fund, Millenium Ecosystem Assessment
It’s the responsibility of our city’s
corporations and foundations,
developers, block associations,
policymakers, home owners and
renters – all New Yorkers – to create a
million living, growing legacies that will
enhance our beloved city and sustain
the world for generations to come.
New York City has always been a
place of big dreams and big ideas –
and our Administration has never
been afraid to embrace them. Over
the next decade, with our friends at
the New York Restoration Project,
we are going to plant an
unprecedented one million new trees
across the City.
Big Question
Given claims about urban trees “sustaining the world for generations to come,” how can we gather evidence of social, economic, and ecological outcomes of urban tree planting?
Research Questions
Do urban trees contribute to ecosystem services and human well-being?
Does engagement in tree planting lead to greater tree survival and to positive stewardship attitudes and behaviors in cities?
air quality
nutrient cycling
carbon sequestration
stewardship behaviors
social cohesion education
sense of place
recreation
human health water
retention
Cornell Collaborators
Marianne Krasny and Keith Tidball (Natural Resources): PIsNina Bassuk (Horticulture), Shorna Broussard Allred (Natural Resources), Janis Dickinson (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology), Gretchen Ferenz (Cornell Cooperative Extension-NYC), Stephan Schmidt (City & Regional Planning), Richard Stedman (Natural Resources), David Weinstein (Natural Resources), Nancy Wells (Design & Environmental Analysis), Thomas Whitlow (Horticulture), Ke “Max” Zhang (Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering)
NYC Partners
Christine Alfsen (UNESCO), Lindsay Campbell (US Forest Service), Cristiana Fragola (MillionTreesNYC, PlaNYC), Susan Gooberman (Trees NY), Jacqueline Lu (Parks & Recreation), Megan Shane (NY Restoration Project), Erika Svendsen (US Forest Service)
MillionTrees-NYC Research Areas• Ecosystem Services: Local Air Quality and Urban Heat Island*• Ecosystem Services: Water Quality, Stormwater Management• Economic Impacts: Quantifying Return on Investment• Education*• Effective Stewardship*• Human Health and Well-Being*• Reforestation Dynamics and Forest Health*• Green Jobs & Social Justice• Biodiversity and Ecological Communities• Green Infrastructure*• Implications of Scale*
At the March 2009 MillionTreesNYC workshop, over 120 researchers and practitioners developed an urban sustainability research agenda. Cornell faculty provided leadership in planning the workshop and are involved in research areas marked by asterisk.
Larger Vision
Cornell has expanded its presence in NYC, through developing ongoing collaborations with MillionTreesNYC government and non-profit partners..
Current efforts: •Participation on planning team of the March 2010 MillionTreesNYC Research Symposium.•Participation on Advisory Committee for NYC Urban Long-term Research Area Exploratory project (NSF and USDA funded).•Leadership for Stockholm Resilience Centre NYC Urban Node•Cornell as lead organization for UNESCO NYC Urban Biosphere •Cornell Urban Sustainability Working Group
Future efforts:•Develop partnerships with private sector•Develop additional funding proposals to carry out research agenda•Grow and sustain the Cornell Urban Sustainability Working Group
From a sustainability point of view, cities are viewed negatively because of their huge environmental footprints. Yet city mayors are becoming leaders in sustainability. Witness Mayor Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC initiative …